F-bank douglas



FRANK-DOUGLAS, or NoRwIoH, CONNECTICUT.

Letters Patent No. 81,761, dated September 1, 1866.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINE EUR TURNING RODS.

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fro ALL WHoM 1r MAY coNcEnN:

Be it known that I, FRANK DOUGLAS, of Norwich, in the county of ANewLondon, and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and improvedSelf-Feeding Rod-Machine; and I do hereby declare that the following isa full, clear,` and'eXact description of the-same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specication, inwhich-' Figure 1 is a side elevation.

vFigure 2, an end view of the cutter-head.

Figure 3, a longitudinal vertical s ection of the cutter-head. t

Figure 4, an elevation of the vend opposite to the-cutter-head,` showinga side elevation of the auxiliary guiderolls. l

Figure 5, a detached view of the guide-plate. v

In.this invention, the knives which reduce the stick to a round rod areso arranged that one of them scores directly into the stick, and at thesame time draws it along and feeds it to the cutter, while the othersshave o the corners of the `rod and round it to the proper size. A newguide-plate is also employed', together with a new device for holdingthe rods when they shall .have passed through the guide-plate.

i In the drawings, A indicates' the supporting-frame, and B B thebearings of the cutter-spindle, C represeating the belt-pulley, and Dthe cutterrhead.

The cutter-head and spindle are provided with an axial opening or bore,extending entirely through them, through which the stick travels Vwhilebeing reduced to the proper shape. v

The cutter-head is provided with three knives, one, e, arranged so as topresent its edge nearly crosswise of. the stick, hut inclined slightly,so that as the cutter-head revolves, this knife will score directly intothe body A of the wood, and at the same ti'medraw the stick along,cutting a spiral around it. This .blade cuts into the wood nearly'toVthe depth of the shaving which is afterwards to be taken off, or, inother words, nearly to the lines which will form the circumference ofthe round rod when it is made. f

Immediately vbehind this knife is another, e', thev edge of whichextends longitudinally with the cutterheadand the stiek,land which cutscr roughs otl the chips that have been scored by the blade e, reducingthe stick nearly to the required form.

Immediately behind" this knife is another, ve, the edge of which extendsin th'e same directionas that' of.

blade e. This knife inishes oif the stick, reducing it to therrequireddimensions andfform, and giving it a smooth', even surface.

In order that the stick may at all points tit nicely, and thus be heldfirmly in the tubular cutterfhead, the bore of the latter corresponds tothe size of the stick at the diiierent points, being largest at theouter extren1- ity, .decreasing a little at tlie'rear edge of the knifee', and decreasing still further at the roar edge of knife e, from whichpoint it continues ofvuniform calibre to the other end of the spindle.

i For convenience in'v making the cutter-head, and to savel thenecessity of elongating'it to too great an extent, I arrange the knivese e on opposite sides of it, whereby any point in the surface ofthestick will pass under the operation of the latter knife the moment ithas escaped from the former. Y

rIhe edges of the knives may be bevellod, and inclined to any degree, tomake them cut more easily and cleanly without tearing or breaking awaythe wood. i f

The back of knife e presses against the side of knife e, and holds thelatter in place, rendering only one screw necessary to holdboth blades.The edge of knife e is slightly curved, that part of it which 'rst comesinr contact with the stick being'bent up, so as to cut the chip cleanlyfrom the stick.

In connection with a cutter and'knives thus constructed and operating, Iemploy acircular guide-plate, F, hung on a spindle at itscentre, andprovided with a series of square holes, m m m, of different sizes, toreceive -a variety of sticks, and arranged so that as the plate isrotated on itsspindle, the centres of the holes will be `successivelypresented in a line with the axis of the cutter-head and spindle. Theplate is also provided with a series ofnotches, n n mand aspring-lucido, operating in the notches, by which it is held in theproper posisigel 2 tion -for feeding the sticks accurately through thedilierent holes. 'ihis plate not only guides the sticks properly to thecutter-head, and holds them steadily, but it prevents their turningwhile the knives are inl operation.

When the stick shall have passed entirely through the plate F, it isstill necessary to have some provision made to prevent it from turning.By this time, however, the oppositcend of the stick will project throughthe other end of the cutter-spindle, and I take advantage ot` this factto construct an apparatusfat that point for 4 the purpose.

Such apparatus consists of two grooved rollers, 1l. R', working uponshafts, S S', one of which is supported upon adjustable spring-bearings,b b, in upright' standards, T T. The rollersr are held in position withregard to each other by means of flanges, r 7', on one, which overlapthe ends ofthe other, and preventit from sliding or moving endwiseindependently of its companion. The grooves on the rollers are soconstructed and arranged that they form, in connection with each other,circular `openings between the rollers, through which the rods pass.'.lhe spring-bearings press the rollers together against the rodsuieiently to hold the latter in place, guide it properly from thespindle, and. prevent its turning. f v

Cutter-heads and spindles of diiferent sizes, and provided with centralapertures of different sizes, may be used in connection with the seriesof different-sized holes in thc plate F, and between' the'rollers R R',so that a perfect rod of any dimensions may be made,

It is evident that knives for moulding and turning the rod might be usedwith my improved feed-device, as well as knives for simply rounding andpolishing it, as above described, and that any number, one, three, ormore knives, might be employed on the cutter-head forpolishing, turning,or moulding the rod.

Having thus deseribedmy invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The arrangement of the inclined cross-cutting knife e with the knivese' e", in a tubular cutter-head, when constructed and operatingsubstantially as and for the purpose above described.

2. The guide F, when constructed with the openings m m, and the notchesn n, and operating in connection with the locke and the tubularcutter-head, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

The arrangement of the grooved rollers R R', at the rear end ofthe-cutter-spindle, substantially as described.

. FRANKv DOUGLAS.

Witnesses:

ALnnnr S'. BoLLns, En. H. THAMEs.

